The Dean’s Lecture Series presents Lanham Napier of Rackspace, April 9, 2008

Lanham Napier joined Rackspace as CFO in April 2000, a few short months before the technology industry hit rock bottom during the 2000 downturn. He is largely credited by Rackspace’s management team in keeping the company steady and setting it on its current path to profitability and success.

In January 2001, Lanham was named president of the company, working side-by-side with former Rackspace CEO Graham Weston and establishing an operational discipline that set Rackspace on a permanent positive revenue track. In 2006, he was named CEO, further underscoring his key role at the company.

Immediately after joining Rackspace, Napier recognized that customer service was at the very core of Rackspace’s business and helped introduce the ‘fanatical customer support’ culture for which Rackspace is known today. His efforts went into instilling a deep concern and interest in the customer at every level of the company, rewarding positive behavior and quarterly growth, as well as customer acquisition and retention. As a result, Rackspace is regularly cited locally and nationally as one of ‘the best places to work.’

During his tenure, Lanham has seen the company grow from a single data center with less than 100 employees to more than 2,000 in eight facilities located in Texas, Washington, D.C, and London. Prior to coming to Rackspace, he served as a director for Silver Brands Partners, a San Antonio investment firm and worked as an analyst for Merrill Lynch & Co. from 1993 to 1995. Lanham has a B.A. in Economics from Rice University and an MBA from Harvard University.